Here kitty, kitty: Cats, cats, and more cats

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Malachi the lion is just one 27 exotic felines living at Vicky Keahey's In-Sync Exotics sanctuary. Keahey rescues exotic felines and takes care of them at her facilities in Wylie. Photo by Mindy Poehl

May 26, 2005 - A special sanctuary has been founded north of Dallas, off of a beaten path past a railroad bridge. By chance, the vibrations of roars can be felt vibrating through the ground beneath your feet.

In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center is a refuge for tigers, cougars and other exotic cats, located in Wylie. Vicky Keahey, the founder of this non-profit organization, has loved animals her entire life, but her first meeting with a cougar was unintended.

"My parents showed dogs, so I grew up around that. I showed dogs for 27 years," Keahey said.

Her parents also owned a grooming shop, and Keahey worked there.

"As a kid, I always had a thing for cats," Keahey explained. "I worked at a veterinarian clinic 14 years ago and someone abandoned a cougar."

Keahey quickly became attached to the 18-month-old cougar named Tahoe and decided to take her home when her owners did not return. "I kept Tahoe in my house for eight months. I fed her blended up chicken," Keahey said. "I'd come home and find my couch cushions up the stairs."

Vicky Keahey, founder of In-Sync Exotics, kisses Tacoma, a Siberian tiger, through the fence. Keahey is close with all of the cats at the sanctuary. Photo by Mindy Poehl

Keahey knew Tahoe needed more space where she would not make messes and get into trouble, so Keahey began keeping Tahoe outside.

"At first I only had dog runs. It was a safe place for her," said Keahey. "Then I built my first cage for her."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife grew to respect Keahey and in 1994, they brought her a second cougar named Ranger.

"The judge awarded custody of Ranger to me," Keahey said. "Then, I found a 5-week-old tiger. He was sick, ugly and skinny. I ended up buying him because no one else would."

While taking care of three exotic animals, Keahey soon became an expert, learning about the expensive costs of the animals and the time committed to them. It was after buying the first tiger, Kenya, that Keahey decided to open In-Sync Exotics.

Keahey now owns 27 exotics, including 16 tigers, 2 lions, 6 cougars, 1 bobcat, 1 lynx and 1 black leopard; 8 domestic cats; 1 dog and 1 horse.

Keahey has a number of volunteers that help clean the animal cages, perform nightly feeding, help with construction on the site and do office work. And, every one at In-Sync Exotics stays busy. Keahey opens the cages at 8:30 a.m. and then proceeds to clean the cages and let the animals play together. The tigers have four different shifts that allow them to roam freely in the playground area. Then Keahey washes the animals, cleans their water and tubs, along with keeping up the yard.

"I also have to work in the office, make contacts for our outreach program and schedule lectures at local schools," Keahey informed.

Caring for these large, exotic cats is an expensive privilege.

"We feed the cats 140 pounds of red meat a day and 60 pounds of chicken a day," Keahey said. "It costs over $380,000 a year to care for the animals."

And, although the animals are wild, most of them have been kept as pets before they came into Keahey's care.

"I pet, hug and kiss them as much as I can. It's important to keep a certain amount of interaction with them," Keahey said. "Many of the cats used to be pets, so to stop closely caring for them would be like a parent to stop kissing a child good night. You can't do that."

Plus, having a close relationship with the animals also allows for the veterinarians to handle the cats more easily.

"We've never had a vicious incident out here," Keahey proudly said. "You just have to have someone watch your back when it is turned to the animals and watch their body language. You can tell a lot by looking into the animal's eyes."